26 December 2004

On Sunday, 26 December 2004, the greatest tsunami, which was caused by an undersea earthquake, occurred in the Indian Ocean. The earthquake and resulting tsunami affected more than 11 countries:

• Bangladesh
• India
• Indonesia
• Kenya
• Malaysia
• Madagascar
• Maldives
• Myanmar
• Seychelles
• Somalia
• South Africa
• Sri Lanka
• Tanzania
• Thailand
  

According to data from http://www.tsunamis.com/tsunami-deaths.html, here is table “Tsunami Death”

A good 10 minutes documentary video provides description of The Asian Tsunami and a brief analysis of tsunami’s waves in general.

A link to a web-page with all detailed report about this tsunami, which contains scientific tables, graphs and data: http://www.drgeorgepc.com/Tsunami2004Indonesia.html

Asia is a land rich and diverse in different cultures, and this is one of the reasons why traveling there is so appealing. South and Southeast Asia sits along the Indian Ocean, a warm, inviting, and relaxing place to be. Tourism plays an important economic role in many Asian countries, and in some cases accounts for more than half of the country's income.

Below is a table showing the importance tourism normally plays in the countries affected by the tsunami.

Indian Ocean resorts had been experiencing a good tourist season. Most tourists come from European countries and Australia. However, the tsunami suddenly brought worry to the tourism industries for regions. Over 7,000 tourists are said to have died from the disaster, and nearly 500 are missing. More than half of the death toll came from the country of Sweden, which lost 3,559 citizens to the tsunami.

Indonesia

Indonesia was hit badly by the disaster, the hardest hit was northern Sumatra. Tourist counts fell by 16% from the month of December to January.

Thailand

In Thailand there was a 27% drop in tourism.

Sri Lanka

Tourism is the 4th largest industry in Sri Lanka. About 800,000 people depend on the tourist industry either directly or indirectly in Sri Lanka. After the disaster hotels across the country were running just an average at 20% capacity.

India

Large commercial destination, Chennai (formerly Madras), on the eastern coast of India that was hit hard. About 650,000 people were displaced in this area.

Indira Point, which was India's southernmost tip and a 100-sq km island, has just disappeared into the ocean.

A great issue: How to Bring Tourist Back???

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was working hard to find a solution in bringing tourists back to the area. They have been inviting international travel writers and sending promotional video clips to potential tourists. Much media attention has been focused on tourists in the affected countries. A number of celebrities have visited them. Hollywood stars have made donations to the victims of the tsunami. Leonardo DiCaprio made a special visit to Thailand and a large donation. Governments maintain that their countries are safe for travelers and if anyone truly wants to help, they can start by reviving their tourist economies.

Moreover, everybody understands that there is always be a psychological reason that tourists have not chosen these destinations in couple months after the disaster. However, time erases all worries and now tourists are coming back to those countries.